[The same story of Godfrey Gaisser is re-told in "A British Subject's Recollections of the Confederacy While a Visitor and Attendant in its Hospitals and Camps," by Mary Sophia Hill, a nurse to the 6th LA: "Prisoners of war were not exchanged, for the following reasons, and a more inhuman act could not have been perpetrated by the North, who were the guilty parties. The North had thousands of their troops enlisted for three years. Numbers of these men became prisoners to the south, and when the Federals found that their time had expired and they were no longer of use to them, they refused to continue the exchange; and so for more than a year these prisoners had been cut off from home and kindred, and the South held up as a monster of cruelty for the rations she gave them. What could she do, when the Yankees destroyed all articles of consumption, and made medicine a contraband. How were Southern men treated in Northern prisons, where plenty reigned; denied the commonest necessaries and decencies of life, starved, punished, and treated with a refinement of cruel torture that is unsurpassed by savages. I have seen prisoners returned from Camp Chase, Elmira and Point Lookout, a mass of disease, living skeletons, with their very teeth dropping out of their heads, frostbitten. Even the officers' prison at Johnston's Island was a living torture. Many Yankee prisoners joined the South; they were called galvanised Yanks. Major Milford, U. S. agent of exchange on the Federal side, was very highly spoken of. Through him I have sent many letters by flag of truce, and they were always received. What a difference in New Orleans, where they rarely reached their destination. Judge Ould and Col. Hatch, on the Confederate side, I knew to be gentlemen, and most humane. The Confederate authorities had all times been ready and anxious that the exchange of prisoners should go on; all the lets and hindrances have been on the Federal side. I saw one boat load of returned prisoners assembled in the Capitol Square, when the citizens provided them with a comfortable repast to welcome them, and where they were addressed by the President, who afterwards walked through their line shaking hands with many. You cannot think how exciting it was to see the poor fellows, so long prisoners; then the crowds, particularly ladies, who were assembled to cheer them, the speeches, and the music of a fine band. One instance was very affecting. A soldier named Godfrey, of the 6th Louisiana Regiment, when taken prisoner had his flag in hand, which he tore from its standard and concealed about his person, and throughout his long captivity he managed still to preserve his colors. When transferred from the Federal to the Confederate flag of truce at City Point, he produced his flag to the astonished gaze of many. It was put on an extemporised standard, and he marched through Richmond proudly, bearing his banner to which he was so faithful, the band playing 'Fairwell to the Red, White, and Blue,' the Federal colors, Confederate being red, white, and red. Poor Godfrey, who for his bravery was promoted to be Ensign, was afterwards killed in Battle. January 1st 1865, the Virginia people gave General Lee's soldiers a dinner, a slight token of regard to their noble defenders. The dinner was a week preparing, most of it being done at the Ballard House. It was wonderful to see the piles of turkeys, shoats, beef, mutton, venison, pork, birds of all kinds, pies puddings, cakes, cheese, butter, preserves, vegetables, in fact every eatable you can imagine, brought in abundance from far and near to make up a good dinner. A committee of gentlemen were appointed to attend to all matters connected with setting out the longest table ever set out on the continent of America or any other continent a table twenty-three miles long, or twenty-six, I forgot which, the length of General Lee's lines."

Thanks to this board for helping me find this diary! -- Jim Huffman, Violett Guards